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Alameda County Prosecutors Have Not Charged Man Who Killed Mother And Child While Drunk Driving

Alameda County prosecutors said on Monday that the man who was drunk when he killed a mother and her baby in a car accident will not be charged. The accident occurred in Livermore, California, a suburb southwest of Oakland.

Brian Jones, 35, can still be charged in the case at a future date. However, according to KRON4, prosecutors are still reviewing the case after Jones was arrested on suspicion of driving under the influence and gross vehicular manslaughter. Thus, they are delaying charges until they finish reviewing the case.

According to police, Jones was on his way home from a wine festival held in Livermore when the fatal accident occurred. His blood alcohol content was .13 percent or higher at the time of the accident. However, his arraignment was postponed until May 28.

Livermore Mayor John Marchand said that the drunk driving accident was Jones’ fault and not to be blamed on the wine festival.

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A police officer saw a young black couple drive by and pulled them over. What he did next left them stunned:

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“Mr. Jones chose to get behind the wheel after drinking and lost control of his car,” he said.

He continued, “It is estimated that up to 150,000 people came to enjoy our downtown over the weekend but only ten percent of those attending chose to taste the wines and beers.”

The setup of the festival limits how many drinks participants can have and also limits time in between the tastings.

Marchand explained the design: “The festival is designed to discourage heavy drinking since patrons are limited to a one ounce pour per station. They then walk to the next station, stand in line and wait for the next one ounce pour. Beers were limited to three ounce pours.”

On top of this, employees at the festival were trained to recognize people who were drunk, which led to four people being arrested for public intoxication. Marchand also explained that the crash happened nearly two hours after the festival, meaning that Jones most likely continued drinking somewhere else.

KSBW reported that Jones killed 40-year-old Esperanza Morales and her 14-month-old daughter when he drove his Corvette through a lawn and ran them over while they were walking on the sidewalk. The car hit two trees and finally came to a stop.

Debris from the accident also injured two boys nearby, but they were in stable condition in the hospital.